The Meet and Greet was held Aug. 3 at the sorority complex in Kinston.

Home Solutions: Household inventories ó just do it

According to insurance experts, the three things you need to help recover stolen items or settle an insurance claim after household property loss are a detailed list of losses, proof of ownership and proof of value.

If a disaster were to strike your home, would you be able to report exactly what you lost? Could you describe your stolen property so the items could be traced and returned to you?

An inventory of your household and personal belongings can help you to: Identify, date and establish the value of your belongings; determine how much insurance protection you need to cover your items; provide information for an insurance claim in the event of an insured loss; identify stolen or damaged items; settle an insurance claim quickly; verify losses for income tax purposes; prepare a net worth statement; plan for replacement of furnishings and equipment.

Creating inventory lists before the loss helps mitigate the emotional burden and eases the claims process, insurance experts say. Yet most people donít do it. A 2012 National Association of Insurance Commissioners survey showed that 59 percent of consumers have no inventories.

Compiling one can be done in a document, with a camera or video recorder. Include descriptions, serial numbers and, if possible, dates and prices of purchased items. Keep copies in secure, remote locations. Most insurance companies have online or printed information, and fee-based vendors also conduct household inventories.

When creating a home inventory, remember: Use a video camera to pan across rooms, closets and collections. Add verbal comments about the contents as your camera records your possessions. Make sure the date stamp feature is turned on and shows the correct date.

Spotlight valuable items one by one. For appliances and electronics, take close-ups of make and model numbers. Again, identify the date of the photographs.

Review your inventory every five years and record major purchases as you make them. Hopefully you will never need this document, but if you do, it will be an invaluable asset.

Source: Cooperative Extension Service, University of Arkansas

Trudy W. Pickett is extension family and consumer agent at the Lenoir County Cooperative Extension Office, 1791 N.C. 11/55. Reach her at 252-527-2191 or trudy_pickett@ncsu.edu.